Small Comforts
by SongSwifteye
Summary: Who did Alter!Ed leave behind? Angst if you end up liking the character. HetGen


A/N: I've never been a fan of killing off characters. However, I was attacked by a rather persistant plot bunny who simply wouldn't let me go. I was wondering if Alter!Ed had left anyone behind, and suddenly, this came up. I wasn't going to kill anyone else, but...well, this happened as I was typing last night, and it's quite a bit better than the original (which might not be saying much). So, sorry if I've murdered Ed's character (figuratively), and murdered a couple others as well (literally).

Please, if you read this, feel free to give me some feedback. I love constructive critisism, but any kinds of comments are welcome. Hope you enjoy!

Comments: Sort of Het, sort of Gen, very...well, I wouldn't exactly call it fluff. No swearing (in this version, the original had a grand total of one), and really nothing inappropriate. Probably boring for younger folks though.

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal alchemist. The characters in this story, apart from Anna, do not belong to me, however the plot is an original creation.

**Small Comforts**

Claxons sounded through the smoky haze surrounding the city. Looking out from his apartment window, Edward Elric watched as the sun disappeared slowly beneath the soot-laden clouds of London. He sighed, determined not to worry about the whirring engines that his imagination claimed were coming nearer. He leaned his forehead against the smudged glass, letting his thoughts wander away from the war-torn world he found himself in.

"I wonder what Al's doing. Or how he's doing, or if…"

Ed didn't let himself finish that thought. He knew that the transmutation had worked. Al had to have been sent back, he just had to.

"Ed," came a voice from behind him, "You're going to need to shut that window soon. The sun is going down, and I need to light the lamp."

Ed sighed, turning away from the destruction outside and drawing the curtains tightly closed. Tomorrow he would leave this place. His train left at four o'clock tomorrow evening, and there was only one more thing he needed to take care of…

◄♦►

The church was a small one, hidden away between a grove of old trees, its weathered grey stones and moss covered roof providing more than enough camouflage to avoid notice. The morning bells were tolling mournfully as Ed stopped just within the gate. Closing his eyes, he stood and listened as the sound of singing swelled from within the chapel. Sadness, grief, and just a little bit of hope floated toward him on the misty morning air, and he stood, unable to go any nearer, as the sounds died away. As the doors slowly creaked open, he managed to hide himself behind one of the larger tree trunks before a small, somber procession made its way slowly out of the building.

Ed found his eyes glued to the long wooden box, unadorned but for the small collection of wildflowers that had been strewn across it. His stomach clenched a bit, and he knew that he was in the right place. The mourners were few, mostly older men and women, all rather stodgy looking, many of whom wore clothes that had seen much better days. One young girl was among them, her dark veil pulled low over her face, and her clothing old but well-kept. She walked very close to the casket, now and then reaching out to touch the rough wood. The vicar next to her, judging by the cloth at his throat and the bible in his hands, put his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, and she turned her face slightly to acknowledge him. He offered a sad smile, and they continued on.

Slowly, the casket was lowered into the freshly dug grave. The young girl stood, frozen, as the hole was slowly filled with dirt. The mourners faded, one by one, and finally the girl, after bending low over the gravestone, departed as well. Ed moved out from the trees. He approached the grave, noting the roughness of the stone, and the crudely carved "E.E. Devoted friend and student. 1900-1914". He crouched down next to it, running the fingers of his left hand over the edges.

"I…I wanted to come and apologize. It was my fault that you were killed. If only I'd been faster, reacted and not just stood there like a…" Ed paused, taking a deep breath. "And now, I can't even build you a proper grave stone. Not without my alchemy."

His next thought slammed into him like a train.

"Oh, please," he begged, "Please don't be leaving someone behind. Please, don't let there be an Al that I've taken you from. I've already abandoned my own brother. Please, don't let me have hurt anyone else!"

He stayed there for a long time, thinking about home, and about Al, and just about being alone.

"If you've come for the funeral, you're too late."

Ed started at the voice behind him, and did the worst thing he could've done. He jumped up, turning to face his unknown companion.

◄♦►

Of all the things that Anna had expected in her life, hearing the doctor tell her that her time was limited, that she was frail and could fall down dead any minute was not something she could have predicted. And yet, as she sat with her delicate hands clasped in her lap, she was hearing him tell her exactly why she would never survive. She felt fine. Why should she die? Hadn't she lost enough already? What right did he have to tell her that she would never live to fall in love, never get married, never have children?

Of all the things that Anna had expected in the war, losing the boy…man she loved wasn't one of them. And yet, here she was, standing at Eduard's grave. How could he leave her? Why did he leave her? Did he really have to die? Why would God take him away from her, from her whom had lost everything else in the world? No family, no parents, no friends, just Eduard.

Of all the things that Anna had expected, ever, seeing the eyes of her dead love staring out at her from an older, sadder version of his face was never something she would have even imagined. And yet, here she was, looking at her Eduard, standing and facing her, while she knew that her Eduard lay in the casket in the ground beneath her feet.

◄♦►

'_Dangit!'_ was Ed's first thought, as he slowly recognized the girl from the funeral. She wasn't supposed to come back! He started to gather words, trying to find a way to explain this, when she began to fall.

◄♦►

When Anna woke, she didn't know where she was. Looking around, she found herself walled in by curtains. Levering up on her hands, she gasped a little at finding her strength gone. At her gasp, Ed poked his head into the curtains. Seeing her struggling, he hurried to the bedside. She didn't sit up completely, but leaned against him, looking up into his face with an expression of devoted adoration.

"Eduard," she breathed, cupping his face with her palm. Ed opened his mouth to explain who he was, but she shushed him with a finger to his lips. Dropping her hand to his shoulder, she curled into his chest. He stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed, realizing that she was too frail to hear everything right then, grateful for the chance to make up a believable story about why he looked like her Ed.

Soon, she started talking, her voice soft and low and muffled by his vest. She spoke of dreams, of going to school and starting a life, of the way "her Eduard" was going to become a wonderful doctor, and how he was going to find a cure for her so-called "incurable disease." Ed listened with a sinking heart. He had thought that he had broken up two friends. This girl spoke of a devotion he couldn't imagine, until he remembered his mother, pining away for a man she loved more than life itself. He hadn't realized she had stopped talking until he felt soft lips upon his own. Pulling back, he stared at her wide eyed, and the tears that formed in her eyes made him look away. She reached out, grasping his vest, gazing at him with pleading eyes.

"Eduard," she whispered, "Please don't leave me again."

He couldn't fight her frail plea. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he took her in his arms and held her. She let loose a happy sigh, tilting her head up for one more kiss. He felt everything she gave, then. Her love, her hopes, her devotion, her dreams, all poured into a kiss that was meant for someone else. His guilt pounded through him, until she pulled away again. With distant eyes, she murmured, "My Eduard, I love you. I'll be waiting."

Horrified, Ed watched her eyes slip closed, and felt as her grasp loosened, and heard her breathing slow and stop. The nurses found him a short while later, still cradling the girl, whose face held a smile of happiness and peace that no pain would ever erase again.

◄♦►

"Edward," Alfons said, gently touching his friend's elbow, "Don't grieve so. She was going to join the man she loved. You can't ask for much more than that. Together eternally."

Ed sighed, sadness and guilt written all over his face.

"She said goodbye to me, Alfons. Everything she said was meant for him. I can't help but feel a little…guilty. She gave me her professions of love, her dreams, her," here Ed gulped, "kisses."

Alfons smiled, his blue eyes soft and sympathetic.

"Oh, Ed, you can't feel guilty about that. You were giving her exactly what she needed."

Ed snarled.

"What, the fright of her life that caused her body to shut down?"

"No, a chance to say goodbye."

Ed froze, looking at Alfons.

"Tell me, Edward, would you not give anything for one more chance to tell your mother how much you loved her? How about your brother? Or anyone else you left behind?"

Ed's smile turned a little more wistful and less guilt ridden. Alfons patted his shoulder, moving into their tiny kitchen to scrape something together for a meal. Ed turned to look out the window. Somewhere beyond his view, he knew that two identical graves were laid in a churchyard, right next to each other until the end of time. A testament to true love, watched over by a tiny, grey-stone chapel, while the morning bells rang through the mists of a war-torn city.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Again, any feedback is more than welcome. 


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